As many of you have already noticed, we have made some changes to the way you receive your Giants coverage, but not the coverage itself.

The Bay Area News Group recently launched a new and improved website that functions much better across all platforms (desktop, mobile, tablet) and increases our ability to get the latest news out to you as fast as possible.

With that launch, the Giants Extra blog will no longer be populated. The blog site will still be here in an archived form, but we won’t be adding new content and all our new Giants coverage will be posted at www.mercurynews.com/sports/san-francisco-giants.

That’s it, really. Not much more to say. But the SEO wizards tell us that Google likes articles that are more than 41 words. So here’s a little more:

The Giants held a hitter’s meeting prior to Tuesday’s game. I wasn’t invited, obviously. So I couldn’t tell you whether it was fiery or involved audio-visual equipment or any chickens lost their lives.

But somebody had to say something. The Giants have produced four or fewer hits in five consecutive games. Not only had that never been done in modern franchise history, but it matched the longest such streak by any major league club in baseball history.

Their .099 average marks just the second time a major league team has hit under .100 in a five-game span. The Minnesota Twins batted .096 from May 1-6, 2012. (Stats courtesy the Elias Sports Bureau.)

I am guessing those factoids weren’t read aloud from a lectern during the hitter’s meeting. Honestly, I’m not sure Tony Robbins or Robin Williams or Ted Williams could say any magic words. They just need to hit more. If it doesn’t turn around soon, this will be the most disappointing even year in Giants history.

San Francisco Giants’ Angel Pagan reacts to a high, inside pitch from Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chad Bettis during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Updated from version posted at the final out. -AB

DENVER – At some point, as you watch the Giants lineup roll over 89 mph fastballs and play dead, it strikes you:

They had even years during the Dead Ball Era, too.

Not even a change of scenery to Coors Field could enliven Bruce Bochy’s glacial gang on Monday, and when you add a starting pitcher who issues frivolous walks in this ballpark … well, let’s just hope no Giants fans delayed firing up the Labor Day barbecue because they watched the entirety of a 6-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Matt Moore gave up a grand slam to Carlos Gonzalez in the third inning, which made the game a lead-pipe cinch for the Rockies given the Giants’ offensive ineptitude.

In fact, swinging lead pipes might have generated more profitable results. A Giants offense that just hit .106 in four games at Wrigley Field was held to two hits, the club’s fewest ever in their 184 games played at Coors Field.

They have been held to four hits or fewer in five consecutive games, a run never before experienced in Giants modern franchise history. (And yes, that includes the Dead Ball Era.)

In addition to their two hits, the Giants hit just two more balls out of the infield — a seemingly impossible feat here.

He is a pitcher who is really, really looking forward to taking the mound at Coors Field.

“I mean, I felt like I was there all the time,” said Blach, who grew up in Centennial, a Denver suburb. “We’d go to 50 games a year.”

Not fifteen. Fifty.

A family friend had season tickets, and Blach always managed to grab one of them. The seats were above the visiting bullpen. Now he’ll get the same view of the field, albeit from a bit further down.

“Sometimes they’d toss balls up to us in the stands,” Blach said. “I remember watching Matt Reynolds when he was with the Rockies. Now he’s my teammate. It’s been cool to talk to him about that.”

Blach watched Javier Lopez during the veteran left-hander’s short stint with the Rockies, too. He can’t say he learned everything by watching Lopez, though. Blach doesn’t have a side-winding delivery.

“Andres Galarraga was my favorite, and obviously he was a Giant as well,” Blach said. “The Blake Street Bombers, those were my teams. It was a lot of fun to be a Rockies fan and just watch the ball fly out of the park.”

Did he ever heckle opposing relievers?

“Nah, not really,” he said. “I was always cheering. I’ve always been a positive guy.”

Blach had a season worth cheering at Triple-A Sacramento. The 25-year-old Creighton alumnus went 14-7 with a 3.43 ERA, and led the Pacific Coast League in both wins and innings pitched (162 2/3).

Blach reached a pinnacle on Aug. 10 when he threw a two-hit shutout at Tacoma. It was his third complete game of the season. And it capped a sparkling, eight-start stretch in which he went 7-1 with a 1.40 ERA.

Although Blach isn’t a strikeout pitcher, the 25-year-old even fanned 10 in a start against Albuquerque. Mostly, though, he churned quick, contact outs on the ground – something he learned to do as far back as high school, while pitching in the thin air.

Blach said in the spring that he knew he needed to make some adjustments after his first year in the PCL ended with an 11-12 record and 4.46 ERA.

“I think staying away from the big innings is the key, and avoiding walks is a big part of that,” Blach said. “If you’re able to change speeds and keep the ball off the barrel, you can have success no matter where you pitch.”

There is no discounting durability, too. Blach threw 123 pitches (85 for strikes) while finishing off his two-hitter at Tacoma; he didn’t allow his second hit of the game until the ninth inning.

Blach can trust the Giants defense. The club has committed just one error in its past 19 games.

Blach’s Triple-A season merited his first big league call-up over Chris Stratton and Clayton Blackburn, two other starters who had been up with the club earlier in the year. (Blackburn is still awaiting his major league debut, though.)

He had his parents and a Chicago-based relative or two in the stands at Wrigley Field over the weekend, and they couldn’t have been too disappointed that he didn’t get into a game. Blach’s cheering section at Coors Field will be significantly larger.

“I’m not sure how many,” he said. “A lot.”

He knows he’ll be able to count a few familiar faces from the bullpen. All he has to do is look up at his old seats.

—

One more fun fact on Blach: His high school coach, Steve Cavnar, has a daughter, Jenny, who is the Rockies’ accomplished sideline reporter for ROOT Sports Network. The three of them did an interview together prior to batting practice.

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This stunner of a stat was in Sunday’s game story, but in case you missed it, the Rockies pitching staff has given up the eighth fewest home runs in the major leagues.

They’ve given up 145. The Dodgers have allowed 139 and the Giants have given up 136.

The raised wall over the bullpens probably has saved a half-dozen or so, at maximum. And the spacious outfield remains as welcoming as ever for extra-base hits. But perhaps the Giants won’t get an instant power reprieve.

They need one. As the Giants’ Liam Connolly noted in the game literature, the club’s top three home run hitters – Brandon Belt (14), Brandon Crawford (12) and Buster Posey (12) – have combined for 237 at-bats without going deep.

—

Matt Moore traveled ahead of the club to Coors Field to get his lungs ready for Coors Field. He has started here once before, in 2013, and allowed four runs in five innings.

We’ll find out what kind of coconuts he has, as Johnny Cueto might say.

—

Not a surprise that Buster Posey is off for this Labor Day early start. He looked gassed while going 1 for 16 in the series at Wrigley Field. (Posey’s one hit came off Aroldis Chapman, and glanced off the shortstop’s glove.) Plus Posey caught all 13 innings in Sunday’s loss to the Cubs.

“I could see the day games caught up to him,” Bochy said.

Bochy said he is likely to play Posey at first base on Tuesday, presumably resting Brandon Belt against left-hander Tyler Anderson. Bochy is likely to rest Span and bat Eduardo Núñez in the leadoff spot on Tuesday, too.

And what about a save situation? Would Bochy turn again to Santiago Casilla, who blew Sunday’s game and has the most blown saves (7) by a Giants reliever since a clean-shaven Brian Wilson in 2009?

“We’ll see what the score is,” Bochy said.

He later clarified that he wasn’t being serious.

—

Couple more pregame notes: Right-hander Derek Law is playing catch at the complex in Arizona and is expected to be activated when he’s eligible for the homestand opener Sept. 12. Gregor Blanco (shoulder) is hitting off a tee in Arizona.

The Giants also are keeping a couple players, including a catcher (Tony Sanchez, we think) in Arizona to keep sharp in case they’re needed on the roster.

“But last year we called up Trevor Brown off his couch and Mac (Williamson) off a fishing boat, and that turned out well for us,” Bochy said.

Brandon Belt is fine one day after a pitch grazed his helmet. If anything had happened to him, the Giants do have a fellow by the name of Travis Ishikawa at Triple-A. Ishikawa is not among the players going to Arizona, Bochy said.

Finally, congratulations to Tyler Beede, who won the ERA title in a Double-A Eastern League stuffed with pitching prospects. Beede gave up a run in six innings in his final start Sunday to lower his ERA from 2.87 to 2.81. He edged out Hartford’s German Marquez (2.85).

Given the way Beede finished, throwing in the upper 90s, it sure looks like he’ll be a solid rotation option for the Giants in 2017. All the more reason they can spend to upgrade the lineup with some pop (Yoenis Cespedes?) and the back end of the bullpen (Mark Melancon?).

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 4: Jason Heyward #22 of the Chicago Cubs is mobbed by teammates after hitting a walk-off single to beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 in thirteen innings at Wrigley Field on September 4, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

“You’ve got to scratch and claw with the type of pitching we see here,” Bochy said.

Or squeeze and throw sand. And hope Santiago Casilla doesn’t fall off the high wire again.

Casilla tumbled in the ninth, and despite a bullpen whose perseverance in extra innings included Joe Nathan’s first appearance as a Giant since 2003, their barren offense could not take advantage of the extra lives.

There were no more reprieves after the 13th. Left-hander Matt Reynolds, the Giants’ 10th pitcher, gave up Jason Heyward’s RBI single to center to send the Cubs spilling onto the field and their beer-soaked crowd into group song.

The Giants fell three games back in the NL West, and for another shovelful of hot unease, the Dodgers are planning to have Clayton Kershaw back in their rotation on Friday. The Giants continue to lead the wild card standings, but their advantage has softened. One more bad series could see them knocked below the Cardinals and Mets.

The San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt (9) reacts to a called third strike against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning of their MLB game played at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

CHICAGO – Remember that otherwise inconsequential pop-up that first baseman Brandon Belt dropped for an error as he straddled the mound on Saturday?

Turns out that was a pretty big deal, after all. It snapped the Giants’ errorless streak that had quietly built to 17 games, which ranked as the longest in franchise history. If the Giants had made it through Saturday’s win at Wrigley Field without an error, they would have matched the 2009 Yankees for the longest errorless streak by a major league club since at least 1913.

“Oh, Belt,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, informed of those facts.

Belt’s error was the Giants’ first since the ninth inning Aug. 14 at AT&T Park against the Orioles, when left fielder Angel Pagan let Manny Machado’s sharp single skid under his glove to allow an extra base.

Not only was it the longest errorless streak in franchise history, but it crushed the former mark of 13 games, last set in 2013.

Perhaps the reason the errorless streak went barely recognized was because the Giants were 6-11 over their stretch of otherwise clean games.

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 03: Joe Panik #12 of the San Francisco Giants is congratulated by Madison Bumgarner #40 (R) after scoring on an RBI single by Eduardo Nunez #10 (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field on September 3, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) ( Jon Durr )

Updated from the version posted at the final out. -AB

CHICAGO – The Giants have spent the past seven weeks looking like the antithesis of a playoff team.

But hand the ball to Madison Bumgarner in the September sunshine, then play with some opportunistic aggression behind him, and you begin to see the possibilities take shape.

Bumgarner shined in what could be a Game 1 matchup a month from now.

He struck out 10 in six innings to outduel defending NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta, the Giants hustled to support him, their savvy infielders put their heads together to record a huge out in the ninth and their bullpen made the pitches under duress to protect a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

Feel a bit like October baseball in September, Madison?

“It did, just because you’re going up against the team … I mean, I guess they didn’t clinch yet, but they’ll be there,” Bumgarner said. “And we play on being there. So it’s a playoff-type matchup.

The Giants are 73-62. Through 135 games in 2014, when they last rode in a World Series parade, they were 73-62.

“As bad as it seems, we’re still in a better spot than we were in 2014,” Bumgarner said. “We’ve still got our division in our sights, but it’s about getting in. If you get in, it’s a whole different deal.”

FILE – In this Sept. 25, 2014, file photo, Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joe Nathan throws against the Minnesota Twins in the the ninth inning of a baseball game in Detroit. The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year contract with Joe Nathan, a six-time All-Star reliever recovering from Tommy John surgery. The deal was announced Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya/AP)

CHICAGO – The sun soaked into Joe Nathan’s black Giants batting practice jersey, and he stroked a familiar goatee now flecked with gray.

“They all still look the same to me,” Nathan said. “We’ve all changed. I’m sure I have. But they still look the same.”

Nathan returned to the Giants on Saturday, nearly 13 years after he departed in one of the worst traded in franchise history. He returned to the same pitching coach, Dave Righetti, and the same bullpen coach, Mark Gardner. Some teams enjoy continuity. For Nathan, rejoining his original team was like opening a time capsule.

“They know what I’m about, they know my work ethic,” Nathan said. “It’s nice to jump into a situation where I can go out and pitch and get myself ready.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he would use Nathan in the sixth or seventh innings, possibly the eighth, and although he reaffirmed Santiago Casilla as his closer, he wouldn’t even rule out using Nathan in a save situation as workloads warranted.

“Casilla is our closer but if he gets used a lot, we’ve got another guy with experience,” Bochy said. “He’s not intimidated to pitch late in ballgames, with his experience.”

Nathan’s experience includes six All-Star selections and 377 saves, which ranks eighth in baseball history. There’s almost $90 million in career earnings, too.

FILE – In this Sept. 25, 2014, file photo, Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joe Nathan throws against the Minnesota Twins in the the ninth inning of a baseball game in Detroit. The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year contract with Joe Nathan, a six-time All-Star reliever recovering from Tommy John surgery. The deal was announced Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya/AP)

CHICAGO – More than a dozen years after leaving in one of the most doomed trades in Giants history, Joe Nathan is wearing orange and black again.

The Giants purchased the contract of the veteran right-hander, who signed a minor league contract with the club on Aug. 19.

The 41-year-old’s next appearance will be his first as a Giant since the 2003 NL Division Series against the Florida Marlins. Nathan’s struggles in that series was among the reasons the Giants deemed him expendable in the trade along with future All-Star Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for combustible catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

Oddly enough, the Giants could use Pierzynski more than Nathan right now. Instead, they will carry a 13th reliever and stay with just two catchers on the expanded roster – and one of them, Trevor Brown, had to play with a severe respiratory infection on Friday.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy pushed hard for Nathan, valuing his experience, but the club wouldn’t have made the move if officials didn’t believe he was capable of being a difference maker in the bullpen. Nathan appeared in six games with Double-A Richmond and threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

CHICAGO – Brandon Crawford led off from second base as he watched Eduardo Núñez make hard contact in three acts.

First came the lineout into the glove of Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant. Then came Núñez’s bat, which whacked the ground with such force it’s a wonder he didn’t strike oil. Finally, off came the helmet, for a test of its own shock resistance.

Could Crawford relate, after lining out twice in the Giants’ 2-1 loss at Wrigley Field?

“Yeah,” the Giants’ stoic shortstop said. “I just tried to hide it a little better today. I mean, may have had to get a new helmet. May have.”

As Crawford softly spoke at his locker, a nearby trash can contained the remnants of one of his bats with a No.35 decal on the handle. The concrete corridors at Wrigley Field afford greater privacy. Despite being 103 years old, they are as sturdy as ever.

The Giants’ psyche is less solid. For the second consecutive day, they registered three hits in a one-run loss to baseball’s best team.

It took Hunter Pence’s home run to break up Jon Lester’s no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh inning. What’s more, Pence’s shot snapped the Giants’ unconscionable 0-for-40 run at the plate that began following Pence’s single in the third inning of Thursday night’s loss.

Over the two games, they failed to register a hit in 12 consecutive innings – something that hadn’t happened to them since June 26-27, 1980, when the Dodgers’ Jerry Reuss no-hit them at Candlestick Park. Continue Reading →